City News

Councilmembers Jimmy Clanton, Jazzmin Cobble, and Diane Adoma were sworn in for their first full term today during a special called city council meeting. The councilmembers were originally elected in the city's first elections and runoffs in March and April 2017. In accordance with the city charter, half of the council had to run again in November of 2017 and the remaining councilmembers and mayor will have to run for office in 2019.

In other city business, the mayor and council voted 5 to 1 to adopt a new city charter. The charter now goes to the state legislature for approval. "The reason we have a new charter is to separate the executive branch from the legislative branch and their duties," Mayor Jason Lary said. "By law, we have to take on additional departments such as public works. Also, the addition of a SPLOST budget drove us to adopt the new charter," he added.

The new charter provides for the following:

1. Gives the city council the authority to develop policy
2. Grants the council authority to create, abolish, merge, and consolidate departments
3. Grants the city council authority to investigate the activities of departments and other offices of the city
4. The city council will have the authority to appropriate and adopt the annual budget
5. The city council will have the authority to confirm mayoral appointments
6. Limits the term of the mayor pro-tem to one-year with the election of the office to be held each January
7. Restores the mayor's salary to the original charter amount and makes him a full-time chief executive officer
8. Eliminates the voting power of the mayor except in the event of a tie
9. Provides for the veto power of the mayor
10. Revises the age requirements to 21 years old for elected positions, boards, commissions and authorities
11. Raises the age of those eligible to serve as a municipal judge to 35 years with a minimum of seven years as a member of the State Bar of Georgia
12. Increases the authority of the city manager to prescribe the functions and duties of all departments
13. Provides for the assessment and levy of an 8% hotel/motel tax on rooms, lodgings, and accommodations and provides that in each fiscal year, a portion of the taxes collected will be spent for promoting tourism, conventions and tradeshows for Stonecrest
14. Changes the name from the Stonecrest/Lithonia Industrial Park CID to Stonecrest Community Improvement District
15. Provides for any non-residential property owner's membership into the Stonecrest CID